Meet the Band

A large jazz band performing on stage with a red curtain backdrop, featuring musicians with various instruments in formal black attire.

The King’s Academy Jazz Ensemble in West Palm Beach, FL. is more than a band or a class. TKA Jazz is a transformative music education experience that inspires students while reimagining the American Songbook. Through its world-class residencies by transformative musical figures such as Wycliffe Gordon, Wayne Bergeron, Arturo Sandoval, and Maestro Gerard Schwarz, or its transformative performance opportunities across our country, TKA Jazz Ensemble is providing its students with a higher calling and purpose of preserving the past while promoting the future of jazz.

Whether it’s their annual Night of Jazz Concert Series, Runout Concerts, Non-profit Events, or Downtown Community Performances, TKA Jazz Ensemble demonstrates an artistry that is for all. TKA Jazz Director Wes Lowe believes in providing the highest quality of teaching and experiences that prepares students to be successful in the music industry and beyond. The innovative instruction that students receive includes masterclasses and performances with industry icons and collaborations with music organizations like Legends Radio 100.3, The Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook, The Yamaha Corporation, The Kravis Center, and The Songbook Academy.

TKA Jazz Ensemble is quickly becoming a beacon to the future of music educational experiences in the modern world. Students of TKA Jazz are shown how to level-up themselves and their brand through artist and repertoire training. In addition, these students receive unique experiences like professional recording sessions that release their music on public streaming platforms. TKA Jazz is more than music. It’s an innovative and transformative ensemble as well as an experience that trains its students with fundamental life lessons to prepare them for success within any field. TKA Jazz Ensemble is a vehicle producing a positively dynamic and reimagined impact on music education, the American Songbook, and the world. 

Band Members

  • Young woman with long dark hair in a one-shoulder black dress, sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair with a black patterned backdrop, wearing gold shoes and jewelry.

    Julia Drahos

    Senior - Lead Trumpet

  • A young woman with dark wavy hair sitting on an elegant cream-colored armchair with gold details, against a black damask-patterned background, wearing a black off-the-shoulder dress and black high heels.

    Isa Bueno

    Senior - Trumpet

  • A man with curly hair dressed in a black suit, sitting on a vintage cream-colored armchair with gold accents, playing a trumpet against a dark patterned background.

    Rett Wedding

    Sophomore - Trumpet

  • Young man in a black suit and glasses sitting on a vintage white armchair, holding a trumpet, smiling, in a dark setting with patterned background.

    William Smith

    Freshman - Trumpet

  • Young man in black suit sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair, holding a trumpet, smiling, dark patterned background.

    Nico Apicella

    Sophomore - Trumpet

  • A young man in a black suit, holding a trumpet, sitting on an elegant armchair against a dark ornate background.

    Aaron McQueeney

    Freshman - Trumpet

  • Young man in black suit sitting on an ornate cream armchair, holding a gold saxophone, smiling, with a dark patterned background.

    Stephen Boylan

    Junior - Lead Alto Sax

  • A young woman with long brown hair sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair with wooden accents, holding a saxophone, wearing a black sequined dress and black high-heeled sandals, smiling against a dark floral-patterned background.

    Gabriella Raines

    Freshman - Alto Sax

  • A young man in a black suit sitting on an ornate white armchair, holding a gold saxophone, smiling at the camera against a dark patterned background.

    Martin Agudelo

    Junior - Lead Tenor Sax

  • A young man in a black suit and tie sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair, holding a gold saxophone, smiling against a dark patterned background.

    Liam Shane

    Freshman - Tenor Sax

  • Young woman sitting on an ornate armchair, holding a saxophone, wearing a black, one-shoulder dress and white heels, against a dark patterned background.

    Jordan Molnar

    Freshman - Tenor Sax

  • A young woman with blonde, curly hair sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair against a black patterned backdrop, holding a trombone, smiling, wearing a black dress with sheer sleeves.

    Julia Basile

    Senior - Lead Trombone

  • A man in a black suit playing a trombone while sitting on an elegant antique armchair against a black damask wallpapered background.

    Jonathan Santiago

    Junior - Trombone

  • A young man in a black suit and tie sitting on a vintage cream-colored armchair with gold accents, holding a golden trombone, against a dark floral-patterned background.

    Daniel Ballone

    Junior - Trombone

  • Young man with curly hair in a black suit sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair, holding a trombone, against a dark patterned background.

    Matthew Wallace

    Freshman - Trombone

  • A young man in a black suit sits on an ornate cream-colored armchair with a dark patterned background, smiling.

    Aiden Phillips

    8th Grade - Trombone

  • A young man wearing a black suit, black shirt, and glasses, sitting with legs crossed in an ornate armchair against a dark patterned background.

    Ryan Cohen

    Sophomore - Bass Trombone

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    Rueben Jules

    Junior - Bass Trombone

  • A young man in a black suit sitting on a vintage cream-colored armchair with a high back and ornate detailing, against a dark floral patterned background.

    Breck Dorow

    Sophomore - Piano

  • Young man in a black suit sitting on an ornate cream-colored armchair, smiling, holding a double bass.

    Brody Storin

    8th Grade - Bass

  • A young man with wavy blonde hair sitting confidently on a vintage cream and gold armchair against a dark patterned background. He is wearing a black suit, black shirt, and black tie, holding drumsticks, and smiling at the camera.

    Ashton Horne

    Senior - Drum Set

  • A woman with dark hair, wearing a black dress and black high heels, sitting on an ornate cream and gold upholstered armchair against a black patterned background.

    Ella Garcia

    Senior - Vocalist

  • A young woman with long, wavy hair sitting on a vintage cream-colored armchair with dark wooden accents, smiling and wearing a sparkly black dress and black high heels, against a dark, damask-patterned backdrop.

    Madison Anderer

    Junior - Vocalist

“The King’s Academy Jazz Ensemble is a gift and inspiration to all who love Jazz.”

— Arturo Sandoval, Grammy-winning Jazz great